Opening Bang: Crabs hammer Indians in game one, Duggan leads Humboldt to close win in game two

ARCATA -- With much of their roster still on the way into town, the Crabs' pitching staff is as thin as it will be all season long.

But on Opening Day, Drew Bradshaw made sure the arms that were avaliable in the bullpen barely had to warm-up.

The left-hander from San Jose State threw seven shutout innings to help the Humboldt Crabs claim a 10-0 win over the Fairfield Indians in the 2013 season opener on Saturday at the Arcata Ball Park.

"Before the game I knew that we had only six pitchers here, but I tried to not think about it too much," Bradshaw said. "I tried my best to take it pitch-by-pitch and not look too far ahead."

The Crabs swept the day-night doubleheader in exciting fashion on Spencer Duggan's walk-off single for a 4-3 victory. The game had been tied for five innings until the Arcata native broke the deadlock in the bottom of the ninth.

In Saturday's season opener, Bradshaw was given an early lead when Humboldt scored one run in the first inning and then two more in the bottom of the third.

Coach-turned-catcher Jeff Giacomini drove in leadoff man Kyle Moses for the season's first run with a single to center. Two innings later, outfielders Chris Ackman and Nick Minteer hit back-to-back doubles to the wall in left field to put the Crabs up 3-0.

The Indians had a pair of chances to tie the game in the second and third innings, putting pressure on Bradshaw with runners on first and second and one out.

But Bradshaw was able to maneuver out of both jams, inducing a 5-3 double play in the second, and then a ground out and a fly to center an inning later.

"When I got in the two jams, I think I got a little too comfortable out there," Bradshaw said. "But once I got that 1-2-3 (in the fourth inning), it set the pace for the rest of the game."

The same couldn't be said for Fairfield starter Phil Estrada.

Continuously working with runners on base, Estrada was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs -- three earned -- and walking six Humboldt batters in four innings.

"When you get behind in the count, it's tough," Fairfield manager D.J. Marshall said. "The guy we had out there is definitely better when he's working ahead in the count."

And with Humboldt giving its starter a lead to work with in the early innings, Bradshaw made it stand heading into the late stages.

Bradshaw allowed just four hits in his seven innings of work, striking out a pair and issuing three walks. Fortuna High grad Ruben Rios came out of the bullpen and finished out the shutout, throwing the final two innings.

"It was big," Nutter said of the bullpen-saving outing by his game one starter. "His pitch count was low going into the seventh and we even thought about sending him out there for the eighth, but Ruben came in and did a nice job.

"Drew pitched his heart out today. He did his thing like he did last year for us."

The Crabs broke the game wide open in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring six times and sending 11 players to the plate.

Four different Humboldt batters -- Moses, Duggan, Zack McCoy and Minteer -- brought in runs with RBI singles in the inning.

"It's nice to get the first win under your belt right away," Nutter said. "We were able to get the cobwebs out a little bit and get the crowd out here cheering again."

The Crabs and Indians conclude their three-game series today at 12:30 p.m.